“That seems a sensible arrangement,” Fergus murmured.
“The pair sat together until they saw a huge cloud of dust rise in the distance.It swirled into a tall column and spun to the spot right before them.The djinn with the white beard appeared in the midst of the dust and made to seize the merchant.‘Wait!’cried the old man with the hind.He threw himself at the djinn’s feet and begged for him to show mercy to the merchant.‘He has kept his oath and shows himself to be of more merit than most.’The djinn agreed with that, but refused to surrender his right to take the merchant’s life in retaliation for the loss of his own son.”
Leila lifted a finger.“But the old man indicated the hind and asked the djinn why he thought he kept it with him.The djinn did not know why any man would keep a deer, and the merchant quickly saw that the old man had caught the djinn’s attention.‘I will tell you the tale,’ offered the old man.‘If you will consider releasing this merchant if you find my tale to be wonderful.’The djinn considered this offer, then agreed and seated himself to listen.”
Fergus chuckled.“Another tale nested with the tale.I tell you this saga knows no end.”
Leila ignored him.“The old man then began his tale.He confided that the hind was not truly a hind, that it was his wife and she had been enchanted.The djinn was clearly intrigued by this detail and begged the old man to explain.He confessed that he had married his wife when she was very young and that he had fallen deeply in love with her.”
“More loving couples,” Fergus teased and Leila smiled before she continued.
“They were married for thirty years without her bearing a child, which gave them both considerable grief.Because he had need of an heir, the old man bought a female slave, and she soon bore to him a son, just as he had hoped.The boy was clever and handsome, and the old man was glad to have an heir.His wife, though, was unhappy in her jealousy and feared that her husband would prefer the slave over herself.She hid her fears well, though, so well that the old man had no awareness of them.When the boy was ten summers of age, the old man had been obliged to undertake a journey and leave his family behind.He knew he would be gone for a year.He left both slave and son in the custody of his wife, entreating her to take care of them both, then he departed.”
“I will guess that all went awry,” Fergus said.“I think you mean to teach me a lesson about spurned women and their jealousy.”
Leila did not reply to that.She had not considered how well these tales echoed the truth they were living.“The wife had spent those years studying the arts of magic.Soon after the old man had departed on his journey, she cast a spell upon the son, turning him into a calf.She gave the creature to the steward, as if she had bought it in the market.Her jealousy was not sated by this, though.Next, she turned the slave into a cow, which she also surrendered to the care of the steward.When the old man finally returned home, his wife pretended to be contrite.She told him that his slave had died and that his son had disappeared.The old man was much troubled by this, for not only was he without an heir, but he had loved both slave and son dearly.”
“A liar, though she was beloved,” Fergus murmured.“How interesting.”
“He knew his duty, though, and called for a celebration of his return.In this place and time, it was customary to sacrifice a cow for such a feast, and the wife ensured that the enchanted slave was the cow so chosen.The old man himself was to make the sacrifice, but the cow wept at the sight of him and made a mournful sound.He found this so curious that he could not strike the killing blow.His wife chastised him for his whimsy and he tried again, but again failed to complete the deed.His wife had much to say about this and the shame that would come upon the house if the guests were given no meat.The old man asked his steward to perform the sacrifice.It was done, but the cow did not have sufficient meat for the feast when she was skinned and prepared.Though she had looked fat, in truth, she had not been.”
“Not all is as it appears,” Fergus noted.
“The wife insisted they had need of more meat, and commanded the steward to bring the calf that was the enchanted son.This calf, too, acted most oddly, weeping before the old man and putting its head upon the old man’s feet.He thought it also meant to entreat him to spare it and again found he could not strike the blow.Once more, his wife chastised him, but the old man would not be swayed.He bade the cook add dishes for the guests that were without meat and sent the calf back to the stables.The wife was livid, and finally, he agreed that the steward could kill the calf the next day.”
Fergus was drawing little circles upon her belly but Leila continued, despite the distraction he offered.“When the steward led the calf back into the stables, his daughter was there.She laughed at the sight of the calf, then burst into tears.He thought this a most curious reaction so asked her to explain.The daughter had some skill with magic herself and told her father that the calf was the enchanted son of the master who had just returned, just as the cow that had been sacrificed had been the enchanted slave who was the son’s mother.She named the wife as the one responsible for the spells, and the steward was so astonished that he immediately told the master about this.The master came to the stable and asked the girl to tell the tale herself.He wept that his faithful slave and mother of his son had been killed.”
“For he had been deceived,” Fergus said.
“Then he asked the daughter if she could break the spell upon his son.She said she would, but in exchange, she wished to marry the son and that her sorcery required that the wife be punished for her deed.The master gladly agreed.The daughter then took a bucket of water and murmured some words neither master nor steward could hear, then cast the water over the calf.The son was restored to his usual form and embraced his father with joy.He professed himself pleased to marry the daughter of the steward, and there was much merriment.Before their vows were exchanged, though, the daughter cast a spell upon the wife, turning her into the hind.‘It has been many years since these events, and my son was widowed,’ the old man concluded.‘He left our home to travel with his sons and it is long since I have had word of them.I left in my turn to seek him out, and thought it proper to take my wife with me.’The old man smiled at the djinn and the merchant watched with hope.‘Do you not think this a most remarkable tale?’The djinn nodded agreement, thanked the old man for sharing his tale and patted the hind.He forgave the merchant, then disappeared in a swirl of white dust.The merchant was most thankful and embraced the old man, inviting him to journey home with him and enjoy the hospitality of his family, for they would rejoice that he was returned.”
“One tale ends, at least,” Fergus noted.
“The king, Shahriar, applauded the conclusion of Scheherazade’s tale, but Dinarzade shook her head.‘It was a fine tale,’ she told her sister.‘But not my favorite of the ones you recount so beautifully.Do you not think, my lord king, that the tale of the fisherman and the djinn is a better one?’Shahriar was compelled to admit that he did not know the tale of the fisherman and the djinn and entreated his new wife to tell it.Scheherazade, though, gestured to the pink in the morning sky, and apologized that there would not be sufficient time to share the tale before she was to be executed.The king fingered his beard, considering the matter, then promised Dinarzade that her sister could live another day, if only to share the tale of the fisherman and the djinn.”
Fergus laughed.“I will wager that it was not recounted in a single night,” he said.
“I could not spoil the tale by admitting any such detail,” Leila said, then yawned.“Do you not wish to sleep this night?”
“How long did Scheherazade beguile the king with her stories?”
“The story is called theHazar Afsan, or the thousand stories.Scheherazade entertained the king for a thousand and one nights, until he could not bear to be without her.In some versions, they have a son by then, while in others, they have two.”
“And what is your design in telling me this story.”
“To tempt you to return to this bed each night.”
“I need no further temptation than you, Leila,” Fergus said, kissing her most thoroughly.
Leila was reassured, even though she wished for even more.She had only three hundred and sixty-three nights to win Fergus’ heart, but his words made her dare to hope that she might succeed.
